Regional Growth Fund
Debate between Eric Ollerenshaw and Lord Wharton of Yarm(12 years, 6 months ago)
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Eric Ollerenshaw
Yet again, because of the circumstance that we were left with by the previous Government. It seems we must go on repeating those figures. I think everyone understands—and that the hon. Gentleman knows it. I was not going to go into this—other hon. Members have mentioned it—but it is not just the regional growth fund that is relevant. There is also the national insurance contribution holiday for new start-ups, and the Localism Bill. Many Government Members believe that the Bill will equip local authorities to do a great deal more for themselves, and get through the sub-regional bureaucracy, which we have abolished, and do something for their areas. They are far more in the picture as to what is successful.
James Wharton
Opposition Members seem to think that the only money is Government money. Is not it the case that, because of careful targeting, funding through the regional growth fund is leveraging almost six times its own value in private investment, which is delivering the growth and investment that we need in our regional economies?
Eric Ollerenshaw
My hon. Friend makes the point about what we hope to get from the measures far better than me. All that I wanted to say to Opposition Members was what we have learned from the regional development agencies’ mistakes, their excessive bureaucracy and, in their last years, their failure to deal straightforwardly with business as business deals with things. Instead—